


The Startling Truth

by mrhutch98



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2018-03-13 13:20:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3383045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrhutch98/pseuds/mrhutch98
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy has new feelings about Jason that he can't understand. Is he just afraid of the truth, or foolish?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Disturbing Happy Trail

I dodge his swipe. It barely misses me to my left. I squint my eyes. He's not half bad. I surge forward, aiming for the center of his breastplate. He sees my move and blocks it with his sword. A smile emerges across my lips.

"Not bad, Grace, I usually destroy you by now," I tease, peeling the helmet off my sweat covered head. All I see is black. I shake my head to get my hair away from my eyes. Annabeth is right, I do need a haircut.

"Not too shabby yourself Jackson." Jason smiles smugly, his blond, sweat covered hair twinkling in the sunlight.

"I'm never shabby, I always kick ass," I reply, smirking. If I know him, I know he will demand a rematch.

"Except for when you go against me," he retorts, raising an eyebrow and smiling back at me. I'm not gonna lie, that face made him look like a god. I respect my bro's beauty, and that is it.

"Oh whatever, you're not that great," I joke with a laugh. He rolls his eyes and drops his sword.

"Sure... I'm starved bro." Jason says, pulling his breastpiece off, his shirt riding up. For the first time, I noticed some blond hairs running down his midsection. Has that been there before? It must have. Why is it that I just noticed it now? I try to shake it off, but something is still bothering me.

"Yeah, let's go to lunch," I mumble. Why did I just notice something as simple as hair? He's looking at me like I have a second head. Actually, I'm sure he's seen something like that before. You get what I'm trying to say. The guy thinks I'm looney. I try to smile it off, but he knows me better.

"What's up?" he asks. I can't tell him. He'd think I went crazy. We can't have that. Maybe the sun's getting to me. Yes, it must be that. I should get a drink.

"Nothing I think the sun's getting to me," I lie, smiling uneasily. Jason raises an eyebrow.

"Sure it is." Jason chuckles, lightly punching me in the arm. "Now, let's go get lunch. I'm starved."

"Of course you are, fatty," I reply, tongue in cheek. He glares at me, still smiling.

"Coming from the guy who eats blue pizza," he retorts, smirking at me knowingly.

"What's wrong with blue pizza?" I whine.

"Never said there was anything wrong."

"Then why mention it?"

"Because it'll make you fat, making you the fatty." Jason says, smirking with victory.

"Whatever, let's just go get our food." I say, shooting him the dirtiest look I can muster. I get a hearty laugh in response. I try to act like I'm mad at Jason. It is not successful. I follow him to the Pavilion.

Once we arrive, I make my way to the Poseidon table and plop myself down. It gets kinda lonely sitting here alone. Occasionally, Jason would sit with me and force Nico to join. Jason calls it the "Big Three Club". Nico says it's stupid, but I think it's pretty sweet. It only happens every one in a while. After getting the usual blue pizza and offering my blue peas to the gods, I fall back on my table and stare off into space. It is extremely boring. Since Hazel's here for a visit, Annabeth is with her and Piper for a "girls day off", which translates into juicy gossip and other gross stuff in the Hades cabin. I could talk to Jason, but he's preoccupied with Nico.

I squint my eyes. Something about Nico talking to Jason bugs me. I just can't put my finger on it. I didn't like that situation at all. I get up and quickly make my way over to the Zeus table. Jason turns around and sees me.

"Hey Perce." Jason smiles. "The Big Three Club reunites!" That comment earned Jason a dirty look from Nico. I smile, a little top big. I only smile because I know it'll bug Nico.

"The best club ever!" I say enthusiatically. I then do the unthinkable. I grab Jason with one hand and Nico with the other and do a group hug. I have no idea what went through my head, but once I wrapped my arms around the two guys, I knew I was dead. Nico was wiggling and cursing like he was on fire. Oops. Looks like I'm gonna be seeing his dad sooner than I thought.

"Woah!" Jason laughs. "Someone's in a good mood."

"Release me Jackson." Nico spits. That tone in his voice is not very pleasant. I let go of them and Nico scurries off, scared of more touching. The displeasure in my stomach is replaced with guilt. Jason's giving me a strange look and Nico is giving me a death glare from far away. What gotten into me? I shake my head. It must be the sun. Yes, the sun. I need a nap.

"Hey bro I'm gonna go take a nap. I'm beat," I say. Jason smirks and calls me a wimp. I'm too freaked to come up with an intelligent reply. I run off to my cabin and lie down. Hopefully this nap fixes whatever has gotten into me.


	2. Nico Speaks Lies

I was walking on the beach, which in itself is not strange. Something about the situation seemed off. This was not a regular walk on the beach. I look over my shoulder, expecting to see something horrible. Nothing. I saw nothing. I let out a breath of relief. I start to wade into the water. I immediately feel more comfortable, as if the water is rejuvenating me. Oh wait, it probably is. Something still seems off. I shrug it off. I dunk my head under and give my normal greetings to the naiads. When I emerge from the lake, I see a sight that I do not need right now, something that does not help my case.

"Yo Perce!" a very shirtless Jason Grace calls from the beach. I try to run back into the water, but the lake seemed to get up and run. Literally. As I chase the lake, I turn to look at Jason. I screamed. Jason's face turned into Annabeth's. This was just too weird. Maybe I'm dreaming... Wait. I am dreaming! I try to pinch myself awake. Nothing. I knew nightmares were horrible, but this is just too much. How can I get away from this mutant thing? I know, it may seem stupid, but I'm dreaming right? What could possibly go wrong? I turn quickly, Jasabeth still chasing me. I soon see the climbing wall and start to climb. Hopefully this'll keep him away. I was wrong. Jasabeth must also be a ninja because he starts jumping all over the place, right below me. Once I reach the top, Jasabeth is right behind me. I look all around. There's nowhere to go... but down. I sigh and run towards the edge.

"Percy no!" Jasabeth says. The voice makes my hair stand straight up. Imagine a mix of Jason and Annabeth's voice, after they both smoked three packs of cigarettes. Hearing that voice is enough to make me jump. The fall felt like forever. I close my eyes and get ready for impact.

THUD!

It hurt more than I suspected. It actually felt kinda real. I open my eyes and realize I'm not outside anymore. I'm on the cabin floor. I sigh in relief. I wonder if I jumped off the bed? I don't care, I'm away from that thing. Man, I'm gonna really need some intense therapy after that. I peel myself off the ground. Obviously sleeping won't fix this. Maybe I should ask someone for advice. But who? I don't think I can even look at Annabeth right now. Jason is obviously not a good idea. Maybe I could try Rachel. No, I think she's busy. Leo would just laugh at me. Maybe I should ask Nico. He wouldn't judge me. I pop my head out of my cabin. The coast is clear. I slink out of my door and make a mad dash across the cabins, going especially fast in front of the Athena cabin.

Now comes the hard part, finding Nico. I think I'll have a better chance finding gold. I sneak to the arena and peek in. I see Jason and try to run before he sees me. I fail. I don't give him time to call me over, I'm off like a bullet. The next place I look is the lake. Good news is that the lake didn't run this time, the bad news is that Nico isn't there. I then run back to the cabins. I look towards the Hades cabin. Wow I'm stupid. Why wouldn't I check there first? Maybe I really am a seaweed brain... I knock on the door and wait for a response. I get none.

"Nico!" Percy yells, knocking again. "Please be home" I hear a very irritated groan coming from the inside. A few seconds later, the door swings open.

"For the last time I'm not gonna tell you what I meant!" Nico huffs. I still don't see how I'm not his type, but whatever.

"It's not about that. Can I come inside?" I ask. Nico sighs.

"Fine, but I'll have you know that you interrupted my midday slumber." Nico grumbles. I quickly scurry inside and plop down onto his bed. I can say, Nico's remodeling sure is working.

"What do you want?" he asks, only slightly irritated.

"I have a little problem," I say. He raises an eyebrow.

"Wait, you came here for advice?" Nico asks, looking confused.

"Maybe, but that's not important."

"Well, what is it?" He asks. I sigh.

"Umm, earlier I was sparring with Jason. After we were done, he took his breastplate off and I saw his happy trai-"

"Woah, woah. Where are you going with this?" Nico interrupts. I roll my eyes.

"If you let me finish, you'll learn."

"Fine, go on."

"Anyways, after seeing it, I felt a weird tingling feeling. It bothered me for some reason."

"Wait, you have a crush on Grace?" Nico asks. He looks slightly amused.

"No! I never said that," I retort, a blush spreading across my face.

"It all makes sense now! That's why you seemed jealous earlier and had the audacity to touch me" Nico says, a slight smile emerging on his face. "This is just too good."

"Don't be ridiculous! We're just bros," I say quickly. I bead of sweat runs down my face.

"Sure.. I bet you wanna give him a bro job," Nico says. My mouth drops. What happened to the Nico I know?! I blame Will...

"W-What?! No! That's gross!" I say, horrified. I can't believe my ears. Where did he even hear those words?!

"Trust me, you just need to accept the facts. You'll feel much better," Nico says, trying to suppress a smile.

"I am accepting facts! I don't like Jason like that," I say. Nico shakes his head in pity.

"Who are you trying to convince?"

"You!" I cry. What's so hard to understand!

"Sure you are," Nico says, rolling his eyes.

"You're no help!" I whine. I hate being this pathetic. I'm not usually like this. Maybe I've come down with something.

"I'm trying, but you're drowning in denial."

"I can't drown!"

Nico gives me the dirtiest look. "There's no winning with you." he grumbles.

"Well, I gotta go not like Jason somewhere else," I stutter.

Nico rolls his eyes. "If you wanna come to reality, I'll be here." he says. I quickly depart from his room. Well, that was not my best idea. I can't wait to prove Nico wrong when this phase rolls over.


	3. Sulking Gone Wrong

After that rather interesting conversation with Nico, I decide to hide in my cabin. I tuck myself into my bed and try to drown out the thoughts of Jason. It fails miserably. I know sleeping won't work. Talking didn't go well either. Think Percy, think. I could talk to a child of Aphrodite. No, that'll get back to Piper. I groan and fall bak onto my bed. Moments later, I hear a knock on the door. My eyes dart open. Please gods don't let it be him!

"Yes?" I call from the bed.

"Open up. Nico says I should come talk to you," Jason says. Oh sweet Poseidon.

"I can't," I lie.

"And why is that?" he retorts. I hear a slight amount of irritation.

"I'm... changing!" I say. He sighs.

"Fine, I'll just wait." I hear him plop down on the steps outside the door.

"Bro it'll take a long time. I, um, lost my shirt!" I try to plea.

"I've seen you shirtless countless of times," he says. Damn.

"Fine." I grumble in defeat. I slowly make my way to the door and take my time opening it. Jason stands up and wipes the dust from his jeans.

"Finally! So what's up?" he asks. I try to look as nonchalant as I possibly can.

"You know, the usual," I try to lie. He's not buying it.

"Then why did Nico send me here?" He asks. He leans up against the door.

"Because he wants you to go away?" I suggest. "I don't know! He's Nico."

"You got a point there.. Wanna go sparring?" He asks. NO! my brain screams. YES! something else screams.

"Aren't you all sparred out?" I say.

"What else would we do?" he asks.

"I don't know. movie night?" I suggest. Damn. Damn. Damn! What did I just do! Please don't take it!

"Sure! I'll bring the popcorn. Meet you here at five" He says, scurrying off. Fuck! How am I going to get myself out of this one? I rush out of my cabin and bang onto Nico's door.

"Di Angelo! Open this door now!" I bark. I hear an annoyed groan from inside.

"What?!" he calls back, irritated.

"Open it!" I demand. He sighs and opens the door. He looks at me gravely.

"What do you want?" he grumbles.

"Don't 'What do you want' me! You know what you did."

"What? Sending Jason over?" he asks.

"Yes!"

"Oh man up! You're going to have to talk to him sometime. I just helped spark the fire."

"Well now, thanks to you, me and him are having a movie night." I grumble. Nico almost smirks.

"Aww how cute," he teases. I give him the best death look I can.

"Let me rephrase that. Me, you, and him are having a Movie Night." I say. He opens his mouth to argue.

"No! You caused this, you're going. Hell bring Will for all I care." Nico knows that he will lose this argument.

"Fine, but we're leaving when you two start making out." Nico knows that comment will make me leave.

I escape his cabin, my cheeks red and my heart pounding.

 


	4. Movie Night of Doom

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a long afternoon of "tidying up" my cabin, which consists of hiding all my laundry under the bed, I plop down on my bed with a huff. I check my watch. 4:59. Perfect. I know Jason will be here in exactly one minute. He's a stickler for precise timing... weirdo. As I'm rambling in my head someone comes in.

"Hey." Nico says. I practically jump out of my skin.

"Damn.. Do you not know how to knock?"

"You know I don't knock." Nico retorts, rolling his eyes. "Will might show up later."

"Thank the gods you got here before Jason... that would of been so awkward."

"You're right, it would of been really awkward to walk in on you two making out." Nico says, matter-of-factly. I throw a shoe at him.

"That'll never happen!" I whine with indignation.

"Much to your dismay." He retorts, smirking at me again. I roll my eyes. I hear a knock at the door. I sigh and look at my watch. 5:00. What a surprise.

"Come in!" I call.

"umm.. I can't" Jason says from the other side.

"Why?" I ask.

"Open the door and you'll see." He says. I sigh and swing the door open. I see a grinning Jason Grace with a bowl of popcorn so large it's almost laughable.

"Bro! Where'd you get that much popcorn?" I ask.

"Don't ask. I had to do a lot of favors, some that I skipped to be here so lets get started." He shuffles inside as quickly as he can with the large bowl.

"I'm not even going to ask." Nico says, laying on my bed. Jason throws a piece at him.

"Long story." He drops the popcorn on the floor. "I brought the Notebook."

"Of course you did." Nico groans from the bed. "Always has to be chick flicks."

"It's a good movie! Sue me." Jason grumbles back. He takes the liberty of destroying my bed. He puts my blanket on my recently decluttered ground and grabs a pillow to lay on.

"Di Angelo, on the ground." Jason barks. Nico rolls his eyes and slides next to Jason. Nico looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

"Oops, looks like I took your spot." He scoots over and gives me a pointed look. I know what he wants. He's not getting it. I plop on the other side of Nico and smile at him.

"Nope, my spot was open thank you." I say cheekily. Nico sighs and crawls over me. He pushes me closer to Jason.

"Stay." He orders.

"I am not a dog!" I whine. He glares at me.

"I'll put the movie in." Jason says. He stands up and leans forward to put the movie in. I will admit, I may of taken a small peek of his ass. Apparently Nico noticed too. He elbows me a little too hard.

"Stop ogling." He whispers.

"I wasn't!" I grumble back. Jason plops back down next to me.

"I also brought Finding Nemo just for you." Jason teases, poking me.

"Shut up! We both know I already have it." I roll my eyes and smile.

The movie begins. It seems like as the movie progressed, Jason inched closer and closer towards me. By the end, he was touching my arm. I try to scoot away from him to get more room. That only earned me an elbow from Nico. Thankfully, a knock saves me from Nico's wrath. Nico jumps up and lets Will in. When he sees the comically large popcorn bowl, he just shakes his head.

"Percy?" He asks. Nico shakes his head.

"Nope. Jason." Will looks kinda shocked.

"Jason? Mr. Serious? No way!" Will laughs a bit.

"I guess I must of rubbed off on him." I say. I could of swore I saw Nico wink at me.

"Shut up and take a handful." Jason laughs, shoving another handful down his throat. Nico plops down next to me and smirks again. That evil, evil smirk.

"There doesn't seem to be enough room, Percy could you scoot over?" Nico asks.

"No, there's not enough room." I say. I know Nico won't take that for an answer.

"There's plenty of room. Now scoot." He pushes me so that me and Jason's shoulders are touching. Jason puts his arm around me and smiles. It's strangely comfortable.

"There, now we have plenty of room." Nico says, quickly swapping movies before ploping down next to me again. I look back at Nico and Will, they have plenty of room! I give Nico a glare.

"You have a strangely comfortable floor." Will comments. "It's almost like sitting in the sand.. The last time I sat in the sand I-" He was interrupted by Nico's elbow.

"What movie is this anyway?" Jason asks.

"Free Willy." Nico says deviously. Oh no! He knows I cry every time!

"Umm.. How about we watch... anything else?!" I try to plea.

"I like Free Willy." Will says. Jason agrees. I hate my life. The movie begins and I try to ignore it. It failed. By the end I was crying buckets. Don't judge me! I cant help it. Nico looks at me with an irritated look, as usual.

"You've literally seen this 50 times." Nico sighs. Jerk.

"It gets sadder every time!" I whine, very manlike may I add. Jason reassuringly squeezes me.

"Have you found Willy yet?" Jason teases. I spray him with water.

"Is movie night over now?" I ask. Nico raises an eyebrow.

"Why the rush? We have one more movie. My choice." Nico says. He puts in his movie. I don't know the name of the movie and I don't want to know. I screamed 52 times within the first 10 minutes. Jason screamed 56 times.. Not gonna brag but.. I'm manlier.

"You wimps" Nico shakes his head.

"Well excuse us for not watching horror movies religiously!" I sass. He raises an eyebrow.

"Still makes you wimps." Nico says. About halfway through, some disturbing creature that looks like a deformed potato attacks a kitten. A kitten! Moments later, we hear a loud bang. Jason shrieks and jumps into my lap.

"Calm down Grace, it was just the movie." Nico rolls his eyes. Jason's surprisingly... comfortable. I almost want him to stay. Almost. I push him off. He tries to laugh it off.

"I didn't jump into his lap, he slid under me.. duh" Jason says, blushing slightly. Nico taps my arm.

"You know you're bulging right?" He whispers. I look down in horror. I cross my legs to cover it.

"It wasn't because of him!" I whisper back vehemately.

"Sure..." Nico rolls his eyes.

"Ok movie night over bye." I say, quickly turning the movie off. Jason bends over to grab the popcorn. I make sure to make it extra obvious that I wasn't looking.

"That was fun, thanks for the invite" Will says. "Good luck with.." Nico elbows him again. I glare at Nico.

"You told him?!" I whisper.

"He assumed! You're kinda obvious you know." He whispers back.

"Shut up and get out." I say, pushing him out before he can do more damage.

"That was fun... Next time its in my cabin." Jason says.

"So your dad can just stare at us?" I ask. He rolls his eyes.

"It's not that bad." He says. He then stands at the doorway for a bit, almost like he was expecting something.

"Yes it is.. now get out so I can sleep." I say smiling. He smiles and looks towards the ground, he might be blushing. Blushing?! I'm just crazy. Yeah.. crazy. I walk towards him.

"Need help with the popcorn?" I ask. He shakes his head.

"I have plenty of muscle thank you." He teases. I roll my eyes. He seems to be wanting something, I just don't know what. Finally, he slowly backs out of the cabin with his popcorn.

"We are sparing tomorrow.." He says. I smirk.

"Can't wait to get your ass kicked huh?" I say with a laugh. He rolls his eyes.

"Its on Grace." He then walks towards his cabin. I shut the door and try not to stare.

 


	5. Percy Dreams, Piper Schemes

Why am I such an idiot?! Why in the world would I agree to spar with Jason again! That's what caused this problem in the first place! I don't know what I should do. If I don't go he will get suspicious, but if I do I'll probably do something stupid again. Maybe I could just run and live with the fish. Yeah! I'm sure I'll fit in.

Snap out of it.

Just get the room "clean" and worry about Jason-gate 2015 later. I quickly shove more stuff under my bed before plopping down onto my bed. Before I know it, my eyes slip shut and I fall asleep.

I'm sitting on the beach, the wind blowing through my hair. Nothing seems off. Yet. I lay back on the sand, soaking up the sweet UV rays. Suddenly, there's a shadow above me. I don't even want to look and see who it is. Please be a solar eclipse! Or aliens!

"Hey bro, mind if I join ya?" Jason asks from above me. Of course it's Jason.

"S-Sure" I mumble, still not opening my eyes. His shirt better be on. I feel Jason plop down next to me.

"So why are you just laying here?" Jason asks, poking me.

"Just felt like it, you flying folk wouldn't understand." I say cheekily, smirking towards him, my eyes still closed. I hear Jason chuckle next to me.

"Shut up fishface." He laughs. I feel him shift a bit closer. I scoot a little bit to compensate for his shift.

"Fishface? That's a new one." I chuckle. "Beats bird breath."

"Bird breath isn't even funny!" Jason scoffs. I think it's funny but what do I know? I'm just a fishface.

"Yes it is!" I whine.

"It is not!" He argues back.

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!" Suddenly, I feel Jason grab my face. Before I could comprehend what was happening, his lips were pressed against mine. I am in utter confusion. Did Jason Grace just put his lips on me? Did I like it? What am I gonna have for dinner?

When I open my eyes again, I am back in my cabin. I sigh. It was just a dream. But it felt... so real. I could even feel his breath on my cheek..

Snap out of it! I bet a child of Hypnos is up to this. I roll off of my bed and land face first onto the ground.

Ugh.

I can't face Jason after that dream! I would definitely do something stupid. I need an excuse. I could say I have explosive diarhhea. No, he wouldn't fall for that. Maybe I could disguise as Nico for the day. My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on my door.

"Yes?" I call.

"May I come in?" Piper asks. I almost faint. Why is she here?!

"S-Sure.." I say, trying to hide the tremble in my voice. She opens the door. At first glance, she seems calm. Maybe I won't die today.

"So what's up?" I ask, sitting on the bed.

"Annabeth sent me." She says, leaning against the door. Oh dear.

"Oh? Why?" I ask. She sighs.

"She feels that something's on your mind. Something romantic. About someone else." She says calmly. Shit.

"W-What? That's crazy!" I stutter. Welp, so much for keeping calm. My heart is pounding,. My foot is tapping violently. I don't know what to do. I'm not even sure about my feelings right now.

"Love is a very complicated thing you know." She chuckles a little bit. "My mother does like to throw curveballs at us."

"I know, I know." I sigh. I'm not really sure where this is going, but I'm sure I'll mess it up somehow.

"So what's on your mind? And don't say nothing, I know that's not true." She asks. I grunt. There goes my answer.

"I-I don't know, I've been having really weird feelings towards someone." I say, avoiding her gaze. There's no way I'm going to tell her it's Jason.

"I've suspected that." Piper chuckles, she walks over and sits next to me on the bed. "You know you can tell us anything right?"

"Yeah." I sigh.

"Is this person a guy?" She asks. My eyes widen.

"Ummm..."

"I'm going to take that as a yes." She laughs a bit. A blush spreads across my face.

"Yeah it's a dude." I mumble. She puts her hand on my shoulder.

"It's normal to have these feelings Percy, especially since you're Greek." She says. Oh Poseidon. I really do not want to have this conversation.

"Piper, I'm fine. I promise." I sigh. "I just need to think about a few things that's all." She nods and stands up.

"Alright, just remember. The heart wants what the heart wants, fighting it won't change a thing." She says as she exits my cabin. I fall back onto the bed and bury my head into my pillow. Jason's gonna be the end of me.


	6. Iris Call Gone Wrong

I have to tell Nico about that dream. He'd know what to do. Hopefully. I pace across my sandy floor. How am I going to get there without being discovered? Iris message! Duh! Please Poseidon let me have a drachma! After digging through the mountain under my bed, I find one drachma. I let out a sigh. I have hope now. I go to my fountain and offer the coin to Iris. Once the picture becomes clear, I see Nico. As I open my mouth to greet him I hear another voice.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" The voice asks. Oh my. It's Jason.

"What do you mean?" Nico asks nonchalantly. So far they haven't noticed the message.

"Percy's been acting really strange lately; I'm kinda worried." Jason says, sitting on Nico's bed.

"Since when?" Nico asks. I give him credit, he's good at hiding the fact that he knows.

"We were sparring one day, and he suddenly started to act strange. Like he saw a ghost." Jason says. My heart sinks a bit. He actually looks concerned.

"Maybe he realized how annoying you are?" Nico suggests with the slightest smile. Jason chuckles slightly.

"Come on, this is serious." He says.

"Sorry, go on?" Nico says. Jason clears his throat before continuing.

"I've tried to get him to go sparring, but he keeps on saying no."

"But he did have the movie night." Nico says, trying to cheer him up. He just sighs.

"I know, but he still acted strange." He says, staring at the ground.

"I'm sure it's nothing." Nico says. Jason shakes his head.

"Nico..." He says, his voice lowers and cracks a bit, almost like he's afraid to speak.

"What?" Nico asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you think Percy found out that I like him?" He says, a slight blush overtaking his face. My jaw drops. Jason Grace likes me. I gasp, a little too loudly because they both turn and see me. Jason jumps to his feet.

"Percy wait!" He calls. He's too late, I end the call and dive into my bed to hide forever.


	7. Reality Check, Please!

Jason Grace likes me. This has to be a sick joke! He can't like me! He's dating Piper, and I'm dating Annabeth. Did Nico know this whole time? He must have. He should have told me!  
I don't know what to do! Should I flee? Should I live underwater and change my name? I wish I could talk to Nico, but he's probably still with Jason.  
Should I chance it? Before I can even think about how to get out of this mess, I hear footsteps outside my cabin door.  
Great! It's probably Jason! What do I do?! Maybe I can act like I'm not here. Great idea me! Before I can hide, I hear the familiar knock on my door.

Crap!

"Percy... I know you're in there.." Jason says from the other side. I don't answer. Maybe he'll go away?

"Can I please talk to you?" He asks. I stay silent as I slowly slink to the door.

"He's in there. I know it" I hear a second voice say. It has to be Nico. See! I knew he'd be with Jason.

"You know he's not going to answer." Jason says. I can hear the melancholy in his voice. Damn! Damn! Damn! What am I going to do?! I don't want him to think I hate him but I also don't want to talk about it.

"Fine, but you two are going to have to talk this out eventually." Nico says.

"I know I know" Jason mumbles. I hear footsteps walk away. I sigh with relief. I go to sit on my bed when I hear a voice.

"You know you can't avoid this right?" The voice says. I whip around to see the intruder. Shock of the day, it's Nico.

"I know" I sigh "I just don't want to do it" Nico shakes his head.

"But you have to! Do you want people to catch on?" He asks.

"No one is going to catch on" I say

"Oh really? So tell me this, what happens when people start to notice that you and Grace aren't talking to each other? People will start asking questions." He says, plopping on my bed.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there" I say, crossing my arms.

"Fine. but don't come crying to me when this all blows up." He says. Before I can come up with my witty amazing comeback like I always do, he disappears in the shadows.


	8. The Talk

So, avoiding Grace was not as easy as it seems. I tried everything. I went to different events, hid in different cabins, even tried to go to the other camp, but alas Jason always seemed to find me always saying the same thing.

"Percy! Please let me explain"And I would always run and hide. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Nico was right. Eventually I'm going to have to talk to him. I just don't know what to say, and what about Annabeth? I don't think she'll appreciate me dumping her for Jason.

And Piper. Her mother is already playing with my love life. The last thing I need to do is piss her off. I guess I'll talk to him. I won't admit to liking him yet. Maybe we can ignore it and it'll never become a problem. Ah! Perfect! I open the door to leave my cabin. I'm greeted by Jason standing literally right in front of my door with a slight blush which may or may not be totally adorable.

"Percy! Can we please talk?" He asks. I sigh and step aside

"Sure. Come on in" I say. He wastes no time rushing in and immediately turns to me, his face full of worry.

"I promise I had no idea that you would hear what I said" He says immediately.

"I know" I say, sitting down on the bed.

"Look, I know you're probably straight and you're dating Annabeth, so we just forget that ever happened? I miss having my bro" He says with a weak smile.

This is going way better than I thought!

"I miss our bro time too" I say, smiling. My plan is working perfectly!

"Will you stop ignoring me?" He asks. I nod

"Yeah.. sorry about that, I just didn't know what to say" I lie. He looks like he's buying it.

"Wanna grab something to eat?" He asks hopefully.

"Sure. Later though" I say. I need time to come up with how exactly I'm going to be around him without doing something drastic. He looks down a second with slight disappointment before putting his poker face back on

"Okay... meet in 30?" He says

"Deal" I say with a reassuring smile. He smiles and rubs the back of his neck

"Alright.. see ya then?" He says, stepping towards the door

"See ya" I reply. He slowly but surely inches to the door before leaving.

"Glad to see you finally talked" A voice says. I don't even get scared anymore.

"Can I ever have a private moment Nico?" I ask. He emerges from the shadows.

"Maybe someday" he says as he sits on the bed. "I notice you didn't tell him you're feelings"

"I didn't need to" I say. He shakes his head.

"You know Grace is going to go crazy right? Imagine how you'd feel if you really liked a guy and thought he didn't like you back?"He has a point, but I still plan on going with my original idea.

"I have a plan" I say. Nico chuckles at that

"This should be good" He mumbles.

"I'm just going to act like nothing happened. It'll go away eventually" I say. Nico rolls his eyes at me.

"We both know that's going to end terribly" He says.

"No it won't" I say. He sighs.

"Whatever you say" He says. I open my mouth to protest, but he disappears in the shadows before I can object.


	9. The Dreaded Painting

I’m sweating, slightly panicked. This will be the first time I actually do something with Grace since I started avoiding him. I have 5 minutes to get it together. I know I can’t blow him off. If I did Nico would destroy me!  
Calm down Percy, it’s just dinner, what could possibly go wrong?   
Gods I hate those words  
I hear people shuffle towards the dining pavilion. Welp, I guess it’s time to face the music.  
I open the door to see Jason already standing outside my cabin with a big smile that makes my heart melt  
“Finally! Took you long enough” He says. He sounds very nervous, but he’s not trying to show it.  
“Sorry, I had to…vacuum” I lie. Jason raises an eyebrow  
“Vacuum? Since when do you vacuum?” He asks  
“That’s irrelevant” I say “C’mon, we’re going to be late” I say, rushing him to the dining pavilion before any funny business can happen.

As we’re walking there, I can hear campers whisper and gawk in aw  
” They’re together again” One camper whispers too loudly  
“Told you nothing happened” Another one whispers. I swore I saw one camper give another one 5 bucks begrudgingly.   
Gods of course Nico is right.

Lucky, we arrived just in the nick of time. As me and Jason take our seats at the Poseidon table, I can see Piper smirking in our direction.  
Take a picture it’ll last longer  
“So.. how have you been the last few days?” Jason asks with a slight blush which is not adorable at all may I add. Crap! I can’t tell him it’s been filled with emotional turmoil, that’ll go against my plan of acting like it never happened! Time to get creative  
“Amazing! I’ve gotten a lot of time to myself, I was able to finally do that thing I’ve been wanting to do for a while” I lie. Wow I’m good!  
Jason smiles “What thing?” Shit. Don’t say something stupid Jackson, don’t say something stupid Jackson. Don’t!

“Umm…you know…. That… painting I’ve been wanting to do” I can’t believe I just said that!  
“Painting?” Jason asks with a smirk. Welp, looks like I gotta stick with this lie  
“Yeah! I’ve been wanting to paint for a while now, it helps destress ya know?” I ramble.  
“Oh can I see it?” He asks. Facecrack. Of course he’d want to see it!” Crap what do I do?!   
“O-of course!” I stutter. Damn Damn Damn! Get it together Jackson!   
“Great! I bet it’s….interesting” He says, obviously trying to spare my feels.  
“What? You don’t think I’d be a good artist?” I ask incredulously. I have no idea why I’m getting defensive, I’m as artistic as a used napkin  
“I didn’t say that…” Jason says, rubbing the back of his neck. He’s clearly trying to avoid this conversation

Right then our food arrives. Saved by the brisket!  
Jason smiles brightly down at his food. “Thank gods! I’m starving” He says as he attacks his food. I’m not going to lie, my food didn’t last very long either, but at least I ate like I’m human!   
Before we can get more, we have to do our sacrifices to the gods if we would like to continue to live  
Jason goes first, and I promise I was watching the food go into the fire. I definitely was not looking at his nice, muscular biceps. And I most definitely was not imagining them wrapped around my waist. Absolutely not!   
I go up to do my sacrifice. I usually sacrifice to my dad, but today I decided that there’s a certain goddess who I need to talk to.  
“Lady Aphrodite, please help me with the Jason situation” I mumble as I dump a portion of my brisket into the fire. As it burns, I smell vanilla and perfume. Hopefully that means Aphrodite heard my prayer

As I return to my table, I notice Annabeth staring at me with a smirk on her face. I wave, and she waves back before raising her eyebrows then glances at Jason.  
Wonder what that means. I take my seat across from Jason who’s happily working on his second plate

“Damn bro, did they not feed you the last few days?” I ask. Jason’s smile disappears for a second before he smiles again, but this one looks a lot more pained

“I’ve been busy these last few days… haven’t really had time for dinner” He says. I decide not to press for details

Dinner after that was a bit awkward. We had a little bit of small talk, but Jason seemed distracted. Wonder why?  
Hopefully it’s nothing that I said.   
After dinner, I rush back to my cabin to figure out how I’m going to produce a painting in only a few minutes. I’m going to need to stall, but I don’t know how…

“How was dinner?” Nico asks from the shadows. I don’t even get scared anymore.   
“It was good… but I need a favor” I say. Perfect! I can see it Nico can stall while I figure out a plan  
Nico sighs “What?”  
“Well… I may have told Jason that I’ve been spending the last few days painting” Nico actually laughs. Laughs! I don’t think I’ve ever seen the kid laugh in my life!  
“Wait wait! You told Jason that you were painting?! This is too good!” He says, laughing at my expense.   
“Yes, and I need you to distract him while I figure out a plan” I ask. Once Nico is done laughing at my stupidity, he nods   
“I can do that” He says “but I want to see this painting too” he says with a smirk. I roll my eyes   
“Whatever just go distract him” I say as I rush out of my cabin. Now here comes the hard part, where can I find a canvas and some paint?

After 30 minutes of asking around, I finally fine some at the Big House. I quickly rush the stuff back to my cabin, receiving a lot of glares from other campers.   
What should I paint? I don’t time to do anything ornate, so let’s stick to the basics.  
I start by painting the bottom half of the canvas blue. I guess that can be the sea? Oh! I know what I’ll do! I’ll paint a boat in the water. Brilliant.   
I get some black paint and paint a black semi circle above the blue with a line coming out of the middle. I paint a triangle as the sail and a yellow circle in the corner to be the sun. I look at the final product with a small sense of pride.  
It may not be much, but it’s not bad for something I whipped up in a few minutes.   
I hear voices outside my cabin and moments later I hear a knock.   
I open the door to see a curious Jason and Nico.   
“Hey guys! Come on in!” I say, stepping aside to let them in.   
Nico bursts into laughter the second he sees the painting. Jason is obviously trying to suppress his laughter.  
“Wow bro… I like it” Jason says with a forced smile.   
“T-the boat i-isn’t even in the water!” Nico says, holding his gut from laughing too much. A blush spreads across my face   
“This isn’t funny Di Angelo! I worked hard on this!” I lied. Jason nods in agreement  
“Yeah come on man, cut him some slack” He says in my defense.   
“S-sorry” Nico says, getting himself together “I just didn’t know you were the painting type” He says with a smirk.   
“I had a sudden desire to paint..” I lie. Nico looks at me knowingly   
“Interesting. Darn! I forgot! I have somewhere to be… bye!” He quickly leaves the cabin, smirking at me and he even winks before shutting the door behind him.  
Of course he leaves us alone.   
“I like it” Jason says, looking at the painting a bit closer. “Wait… why is the paint still wet?” He asks. Shit! Come on Jackson think of something!

“It’s because it’s so humid in here! It keeps the paint wet” Please believe it! Please believe it!  
Jason nods “of course! Makes total sense to me” He says. It may be sarcastic, but I’m going to assume it wasn’t   
“As much as I love talking about art, I’m kinda tired bro, so I think I’m going to go to bed” I lie, I even fake yawn to prove my point. Jason almost looks sad, but he nods   
“Alright I’ll get out of your hair then.. see you tomorrow?” He asks hopefully. I chuckle.  
“I’ll see you tomorrow Grace” I say as I practically push him out of my cabin. Once he leaves, I collapse onto the bed. A few minutes later, I hear a knock on the door. I get up and open the door to see Piper. She smiles at me

“Can I come in? I think we need to have another chat..”


	10. I Mess Up

I’m not going to lie, having another chat with Piper is the last thing I want to do, but I can’t just say no

“S-Sure..” I stutter as I stumble back onto my bed. Piper shuts the door behind her.

“I think I know who this mystery guy is” Piper starts. My heart stops. This is really, really bad! If Piper’s right, that means I like her boyfriend…which is a big no no

“O-oh? Who do you think it is?” I ask, trying to play it cool.

“I think it’s Jason” She says. Shit. This is not good! Think Percy think! Should I deny my ass off or should I come clean?

“W-what are you talking about?” I ask incredulously. She shakes her head

“Percy it’s ok! I’m not upset, I understand” Piper says. While that is reassuring, it’s still bad news!

“No! It’s not Jason…I promise!” I say. She looks at me with disbelief then sighs

“Percy, I am the daughter of the love goddess, do you really think I don’t notice?” Wonder if she knows HER boyfriend likes me too

“Look, I know you may think there’s something between me and Jason but there isn’t. He’s happily dating you and I’m happily dating Annabeth” Piper nods her head

“I know that, but I’m just saying if it is Jason that you shouldn’t avoid him. It really hurt him Percy. He’ll never admit it, but he really missed you these past few days” She says. Now I really wonder if she knows about his feelings because right now it does not sound like it.

“I know, and it may have seemed like I was avoiding him, but I promise I wasn’t, I was working on this painting over here” I say, gesturing to my amazing boat I painted in 5 minutes. Unlike Jason, she was not buying it.

“So you’re telling me it took you 3 days to paint this?” Piper asks. I nod my head

“I worked really hard on this!” I exclaim. I’m offended! How dare she think I did my 5 minute painting in 5 minutes!

 “Really? Then why did you ask Connor Stoll about canvas yesterday?” Piper asks. Shit, she did her homework. I’ve never really been good at talking my way out of things, that was Annabeth’s strength

“Ummm…Fine I did paint this yesterday” I admit bitterly.

“Then why were you avoiding Jason?” She asks. Something about the way she said it made me want to tell the truth

“Because I heard Jason tell Nico that he likes me!” I blurt out. The second I say it I knew exactly what happened. She charmspeaked me, and now I could have potentially ruined their relationship.

Piper looks a bit shocked, then quickly gets her emotions together.

“Oh… I didn’t know that.. Sorry” She says a bit sheepishly. I give her shoulder a reassuring pat

“You should talk to Jason” I say. Hopefully they’ll talk, and Jason will remember his love for Piper and stop liking me. A man can hope. Piper gives me a quick hug before she leaves. I groan and fall onto the bed. In the corner, I see the air shimmer and suddenly Annabeth appears which scares me.

“Annabeth!” I exclaim, falling over onto my sandy cabin floor. “What are you doing here?! How long have you been here? And why didn’t you at least clean the corner you were standing in?!” I ask. I only ask the most important questions.

 

She chuckles at the last question “To answer your last question, this isn’t my cabin seaweed brain, and I’m here because my and Piper had a plan. We both knew if we wanted answers that we’d have to get creative. You boys are so dense” I am shocked. We are not dense!

“How are we dense?!” I ask with a strong sense of indignation. Annabeth just chuckles.

“When Nico said you’re not his type you didn’t understand what that meant for 30 straight minutes” She says.

“He wasn’t that clear!” I cry with indignation

“He said he used to have a crush on you, how much clearer could he be?” She asks. I still think he could have been clearer, and I still don’t see how I’m not his type but ok

“Whatever, that’s not important. What’s your plan?” I ask.

“Well… we thought you liked Jason, but I wanted to make sure before I asked you about it, so we came up with this plan” She says. She then grabs my hand and sits me down on the bed

“Percy…be honest with me.. do you like Jason?” She asks, her intense gray eyes looking straight into my soul.

“Uummm…define like” I say, trying to get out of this situation. I don’t want to lie, but I’m afraid the truth will put a strain on me and Annabeth.

“When you see him does your heart race? Do you notice his features with longing? Do you want to kiss him?” She asks. Yes, Yes, and Yes, but I can’t say that!

 

“No?” I say quizzically. Annabeth continues to stare at me for a second before she looks away

“Are you sure? Because I can see the way you look at him..” She says. Oh shit. What do I do?! I don’t think denying it will be a smart idea, so I’ll just change the conversation

“Babe you know I love you! You don’t need to worry about Jason, I promise nothing will happen between me and him! He’s happy with Piper and I am very happy with you. I promise” I declare, practically pleading for Annabeth to drop it. She smiles

“I know seaweed brain, I know you love me, but I know you’ll always wonder what could have happened with Jason, so go and talk to him, and if the feelings mutual..” She stops midsentence and grabs my hand

“Piper and I think it’s best for all of us if we took a break and let things happen naturally..” She says. My heart sinks

“A-are you breaking up with me?!” I ask. I can’t believe this! This is all Jason’s fault! If he didn’t look like that and didn’t have his personality we wouldn’t be in this situation.

“Not officially, but we agreed that until this is figured out neither of us will have our boyfriends completely to ourselves. I mean think about it, how many times have we done stuff recently?” I think about and she’s right, but we can’t break up! We’re meant for each other!

“we can’t!” I say weakly. She shakes her head

“and we aren’t! this is temporary, unless you and Jason are really into each other” She says. This must be a dream! This cannot be happening!

“I don’t want Jason, I want you!” I hope I can talk some sense into you

“If we’re meant to be together, then we’ll get back together in the end. I know this is hard, but I trust Piper, and her gut says this is what needs to happen” Suddenly everything makes sense. Aphrodite heard my prayer, and this is her answer. I should have known! How could I be stupid enough to trust the goddess of love?! This is all my fault! And I need to fix it. I let go of Annabeth’s hands

“Fine, I’ll talk to Jason then we can go from there, but we are not breaking up yet, not until I’m done talking to Jason. Please!” I say. She nods her head. “Go talk to him” She orders. I give her a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing to Jason’s cabin. I know what I need to do.

I knock on the door and wait for Jason to let me in. I hear someone shuffle to the door and it swings open. Piper walks out, so I assume I can go in.

I walk in and see Jason sitting on his bed, his head in his hands. He looks up at me and gives me a weak smile.

“Did you get the talk from your girlfriend too?” He asks. I sigh and shut the door behind me.

“I’m going to make this quick, I do not like you in that way. I want to be with Annabeth and I do not want to be with you.” I say. All the emotion on Jason’s face fades away. He stands up.

“But Piper told me tha-“ I don’t let him finish that statement

“She’s wrong! I don’t like you Jason! I don’t want to be with you! You liking me has caused this big deal when it shouldn’t be! Why can’t you just understand that?” In retrospect, that was not the smartest thing to say. Jason’s face turns with anger as he steps towards me

“You think this is my fault?! You weren’t ever supposed to know! And last time I checked, the girls noticed YOU staring at ME!” He yells back. What?! He must be lying because I never checked him out!.. well maybe not often but it’s still his fault

“Oh so you’re saying this is my fault? You’re the one who likes me!”

“I know! I don’t know why, seeing how you’ve been awful towards me these last few days” He says, his skin literally sparking

“I haven’t been that awful! You’re just mad because I don’t like you back” At that point, Jason looks like he’s about to strike me but at the last second reconsiders

“We both know you do Jackson, don’t act like you don’t” He says

“I’m not acting! I don’t like you Jason. At all! And if you can’t accept that then we can’t be around eachother anymore” Jason looks at me and I knew I just messed up. For a split second he looks extremely hurt. That hurt then changes to anger. He steps to me and gets only an inch away from my face

“Get.out” He says, gritting his teeth, his voice low and serious

“Jason I’m-”

“Get. OUT!” He yells this time. I decide it’s not smart to argue. I storm out of his cabin and go straight back to mine, ignoring the crowd that surrounded Jason’s cabin from our fight. I slam my door and collapse on my bunk. I can’t believe this! I should apologize to him, but I need to calm down first. After a few minutes I doze off, sleeping the anger off.

 

A few hours later I’m awoken by a very angry Piper.

“What did you do?!” She yells. Annabeth is right beside her and she doesn’t look very happy either.

“What?” I ask stupidly. This time Annabeth speaks up

“Jason. He’s gone” She says.

“Gone?! What do you mean gone?” I ask.

“He left a note on his bunk, saying that he left for Camp Jupiter.” Piper says, looking like she wants to wring my neck. I don’t understand the big deal, Jason goes to Camp Jupiter all the time.

“So? He goes there all the time” I say. The was not the right thing to say because both of the girls just got more angry.

“No seaweed brain, he’s moving there, and he’s never coming back!” She says. My jaw drops. The thought of never seeing Jason again destroyed me and the gravity of the situation finally dawned on me.

 

Jason Grace left his life here because of me.


End file.
